Palos Verdes freshman Andrew Johnson, JSerra doubles pair of Riley Anson and Brady Schaefgen win historic CIF-Southern Section boys tennis championships

CLAREMONT – JSerra finally made history with its doubles victory and the era of the next great Palos Verdes singles player officially began Thursday at the CIF-Southern Section boys tennis individual tournament.

Andrew Johnson became the first freshman in the section to capture a boys singles championship since 1996 with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Woodbridge High junior Brady Tallakson at Biszantz Family Tennis Center at Claremont-McKenna College.

Johnson also secured the first singles title for Palos Verdes since Brandon Holt in 2015, and the fourth section crown in program history, including Pete Sampras in 1987 and Bill Martin in 1972.

Andrew Johnson of Palos Verdes became the first freshman to win a CIF-Southern Section boys singles title since 1996 | Erik Boal photo

Riley Anson, a sophomore, and Notre Dame-bound senior Brady Schaefgen from JSerra became the first athletes in school history to win a section crown in doubles or singles, outlasting Bowdoin College-bound senior Christian Stubbeman and sophomore Chase Klugo of Harvard-Westlake by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 margin in the doubles final.

Post-match interviews

JSerra had captured both boys tennis and girls tennis team championships in school history, but never had an athlete reach a section final in singles or doubles until Thursday, with Anson and Schaefgen knocking off reigning champions Trevor Nguyen and David Tran from Marina with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph in the semifinals.

It also marked the first time in the history of the boys doubles section championship – which began in 1922 – that the third set was won by a 6-0 margin.

Anson and Schaefgen broke in the final game of the opening set to grab an early advantage.

The teams remained on serve through the first six games of the second set, before Klugo and Stubbeman earned their first service break to secure a 4-3 advantage and then held serve the rest of the way to level the match.

Anson and Schaefgen, who won seven consecutive games in the semifinals after falling behind 3-0 in the opening set against Nguyen and Tran, produced another impressive run in the final set of the championship match to rebound from their first set loss together this season.

The JSerra pair recorded a crucial service break in the second game, and then added two more in the set to capture the championship, denying Harvard-Westlake its first doubles title since 2018.

Riley Anson and Brady Schaefgen of JSerra earned the first CIF-Southern Section doubles crown in school history | Erik Boal photo

Schaefgen earned a measure of revenge against Klugo and Stubbeman after the Harvard-Westlake tandem prevailed against the JSerra senior and sophomore teammate Michael Geffre in a pro-set in the round of 16 of the CIF boys doubles draw in April at the 123rd Ojai Tennis Tournament.

Anson elevated from reaching the singles semifinals last season, with Schaefgen improving after falling in the doubles round of 16 with partner Cade Faul.

Klugo and Stubbeman reached the final with a 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory against Keoni Brady and Connor Chu from Palos Verdes. The Harvard-Westlake pair hadn’t dropped a set in five tournament matches before losing the opener against Anson and Schaefgen.

Riley Anson and Brady Schaefgen achieved the first 6-0 third-set victory in CIF-Southern Section doubles final history against Christian Stubbeman and Chase Klugo from Harvard-Westlake | Erik Boal photo

Johnson completed his remarkable run to the championship without dropping a set in six tournament matches, surrendering only 16 total games in 12 sets to become the first freshman to win the title since Taylor Dent of Corona del Mar in 1996.

Following a 6-2, 6-0 semifinal victory against sophomore Matteo Huarte of Mater Dei, Johnson surrendered the first three games in the final against Tallakson.

Andrew Johnson of Palos Verdes rallied after dropping the first three games against Brady Tallakson from Woodbridge to secure a 6-4, 6-3 win in the CIF-Southern Section singles final | Erik Boal photo

But Johnson rallied to win three in a row to pull even and secured a service break to grab a 5-4 lead, before closing out the set.

With the second set also tied at 3-3, Johnson recorded two more service breaks to complete his final push to the championship, which he celebrated by displaying a “Live Like Braun” T-shirt, honoring the memory of former Loyola High standout and Virginia-bound senior Braun Levi, who was killed May 4 when he was struck as a pedestrian while walking on Sepulveda Blvd. by a drunk driver.

Andrew Johnson of Palos Verdes, the CIF-Southern Section singles champion, honored former Loyola High standout Braun Levi, who was killed May 4 by a drunk driver | Erik Boal photo

Tallakson became the third Woodbridge male athlete to advance to a singles final, joining champion Michael McClune in 2005 and two-time winner Stefan Dostanic in 2017-18.

Following a quarterfinal loss in the CIF singles draw at the Ojai Tennis Tournament to Jeremy Sieben of Flintridge Prep, Tallakson rebounded Thursday to produce a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 semifinal victory in the rematch, advancing to his first section final after losing in the round of 16 last season.

With freshman Sophie Suh of Orange Lutheran capturing the title in December at Biszantz Family Tennis Center, it marked the first time since the girls tennis individual tournament resumed in 1971 – after being discontinued following the 1938 season – that ninth-graders won both the boys and girls singles championships in the same school year.